Adapter



Jan. 20, 1942. J. RUDIN 2,270,347

ADAPTER Filed Feb. 8, 1959 #WE/WOR ,47' TORNE'V Patented Jan. 20, 1942ADAPTER Jacob Rudin, Paterson, N. J., assignor to Western ElectricCompany, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication February 8, 1939, Serial No. 255,199

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an adapter, and more particularlyto anelectrical attachment plug and receptacle wherein accurate polarity isassured.

In connecting electrical devices in electrical circuits it is frequentlydesirable and ofttimes necessary that the correct polarity vbe assured.Two most commonly used types of attachment plug and receptacle foraccomplishing this purpose are those of the radial type, having pairs ofterminals and receiving sockets, with one of each pair being disposed atright angles relative to the other, and those of the parallel type,having pairs of terminals and receiving sockets with one of each pairbeing wider than the other so that the terminals of a plug can beconnected only in one way to an electrical circuit through itsreceptacle. However, difficulty frequently arises when an electricaldevice is equipped with a plug having terminals of one type when theonly receptacles available are those of the other type.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, eilicient andpractical adapter for conditioning a receptacle of one type toaccommodate an attachment plug of another type.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises an adapterhaving interconnected body members of insulating material housing springcontacts joined to terminals of one type and electrically engageable byterminals of another type, the body of this being so constructed that inassembly and in use the correct polarity is assured.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the adapter, one bodymember thereof being shown removed from the other;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the adapter, and

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the adapter.

Referring now to the drawing, particularly Fig. 1, body members I and IIare shown grooved to receive contact springs I2 and I3 connectedelectrically to terminals I4 and I5, respectively. In this embodiment ofthe invention terminals I4 and I5 are of the radial type, one beingpositioned at righ angles with respect to the other and receivable in areceptacle of the type shown at I6 in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the formation of the body member I0, it will beobserved that the inner surface I'I is constructed to nt flush with theinner surface I8 of the body member I I. A rectangular projectingcentral portion 20 integral with the body I0 and terminating short ofthe ends thereof extends above the surface I'I and serves as aninterlocking member with the body member II, as will hereinafter bedescribed. The side walls of the projection 20 continue into the bodymember to form inner walls of elongate grooves 2| or recesses whichpartially house the spring contacts I2 and I3. Recesses 24, 25, 26 and2'I are formed in the body portion,connecting the recesses 2l with theends of the body portion and cooperating with similar recesses formed inthe body member I I to form terminal receiving apertures varying insize. The recesses 24 to 26 inclusive are so formed that their innerwalls lie in planes with the adjacent walls of the projection 2U and theinner walls of their respective recess 2l. The opposite parallel wallsof these recesses are positioned approximately half the distance betweentheir respective parallel walls and the outer walls of the recesses 2|,forming offset portions for the curved ends of the terminals I4 and I5.Therefore, the terminals 28 of an attachment plug 29, receivable in therecesses 24 and 26 or in the recesses 25 and 21, will be guided betweenthe inner walls of the recesses 2l adjacent the projection 20 and thetransversely projecting resilient inner ends 3D of the contacts I2 andI3. 'Ihe terminals I4 and I5 as well as the terminals 28 may be dened asnon-reversible terminals as well as terminals of diiferent types, asthey can be inserted in their respective terminal receiving apertures inonly one way and cannot be inserted therein in reverse order.

In connecting the contacts I24 and I3 to their respective terminals I4and I5 integral portions 32 are provided, these portions extendingupwardly as shown in Fig. 1 and inwardly at right angles to positionswhere they are connected, in any suitable manner, such as by riveting,to their respective terminals.

Referring now to the body member II, it will be observed that thismember has a general recess 35, the width of which vis equal to thedistance between the outer walls of the recesses 2l and the length ofwhich is equal to the length of these recesses. The depth of the recess35 at the side walls of the body member terminates at walls 36, whichform covers for the recesses 2| in the body member .I0 and complete thespaces in the adapter for the housing of the contacts.

The walls 36, however, are cut away, at 31, for

` therewith in completing the terminal receiving apertures. By viewingthese apertures in assembly, attention being directed to Fig. 3, it willbe observed that the apertures formed by the recesses 24-240 and 25-250are smaller in their vertical dimensions than the apertures formed bythe recesses 26--260 and 21-2'I0.

The body members I and II are secured together by a single element, suchas a bolt 45, having its head embedded in a countersunk portion of thebody member I0 and its nut embedded in a countersunk portion of the bodymember Il.

One important feature of the invention is the assembly of the. contacts,terminals and body members to form a complete adapter and assure thecorrect polarity when included in an electrical circuit. The correctpolarity is assured in the assembly of these elements iirst, byproviding an interlocking of the elements so that they may be securedtogether by but a single connecting element such as a bolt, second,spacing the terminals to accommodate the positioning of this connectingelement near the center of the members I0 and Il, and third, positioningthe apertures for the element off center to make it impossible to securethe members together unless they are properly assembled. The aperturesfor the bolt, therefore, are positioned a slight distance to one side ofthe center line of the members, a distance sumcient to position the boltreceiving apertures in each member out of alignment should the membersI0 and II be incor rectly assembled. The interlocking of the members,particularly the reception of the projection 20 in its recess 38,assures a durable and rigid structure requiring but a single element orbolt to secure the elements together. Therefore, in assembly the correctpolarity is assured. By assuring the correct polarity in assembly thecorrect polarity is assured in use by the association of the recesses'24 to 26 inclusive ofthe body member I0 with their respective recessesof the body member II to form in each end of the adapter a narrowaperture to receive a similarly narrow terminal of the attachment plug29 having terminals of a parallel type in electrical connection with thecontact I2, Whereas wider apertures will be formed in the ends of theadapter to receiveA Wider terminals in electrical engagement with thecontact I3. The diierence in the dimensions of the apertures in theadapter is such that the terminals of the parallel type of an attachmentplug may be connected only to their respective contacts I2 and I3 and itis impossible for the wider terminal to be inserted into electricalengagement with the contact I2, thus preventing electrical engagement ofthe narrower terminal with the contact I3.

Another important feature of the invention lies in the positioning ofthe center line of the terminals I 4 and I5 at one side of the parallelcenter line of the body members and the bolt securing the body memberstogether. By so positioning the terminals they may be formed identicalin construction and may be secured to contact springs which are alsoidentical in construction. The radial type of terminal, such as theterminals I4 and I5, are positioned one at right angles with respect tothe other, and if these terminals were placed with their center line inthe same plane as the center line of the body members, either thecontact springs or the terminals or both would have to be made differingin dimensions, doubling the cost of manufacture.

Still another important feature of the invention is the formation of thebody members, particularly the body member I0, having the pro- ,iectingcentral portion 20, the side surfaces oi' which lie in the same plane asthe inner walls of the recesses forming the terminal receiving aperturesso as to assure positive electrical engagement of the terminals of theattachment plug with the contact springs. Ofttimes terminals of anattachment plug become bent toward each other or become loose in theirmounting, whichconditions might render the attachment plug ineffectivefor electrical contact with the contact springs if no means wereprovided to assure proper spacing of the terminals of the attachmentplug. The walls of the recesses forming the terminal receiving aperturesand the walls of the portion 20 assure the proper spacing of theterminals at all times.

The embodiment of the invention shown and described illustrates anadapter having terminals of the radial type and a receptacle receivingterminal of the parallel type. Therefore, the adapter, as illustrated inthis embodiment of the invention, conditions a receptacle of the radialtype for use with an attachment plug having terminals of the paralleltype. An operator oi' a machine, for example, a portable machineelectrically operated and having an attachment plug with terminals ofthe parallel type, -may carry an adapter of this type for use when areceptacle of the parallel type is not accessible. By the aid of theadapter of the type illustrated in this embodiment the machine may bereadily connected in the electrical circuit and the operator Will beassured of the proper polarity.

Another embodiment of the invention-which is not shown in the drawingbut which may be readily understood after a careful consideration of thefirst embodiment of the invention, consists of an adapter havingterminals of the parallel type and a receptacle conditioned to receiveterminals of the radial type. With such an adapter it is possible tocondition a receptacle of the parallel type to include in the circuittherewith terminals of the radial type.

The embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are illustrative onlyand may be widely modified and departed from in many ways withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out inand limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable adapter for conditioning a receptacle in an electricalcircuit adapted to receive only one type of non-rotatable non-reversibleterminals to include in the circuit terminals of an attachment plug of adifferent type, said adapter comprising non-rotatable and non-reversibleterminals of the type receivable in the receptacle, and a receptacleassociated with the terminals and formed to receive non-reversibleattachment plug terminals of the other type.

A portable adapter for conditioning a re ceptacle in an electricalcircuit adapted to receive only one type of non-rotatable non-reversibleterminals to include in the circuit terminals of an attachment plug of adifferent type, said adapter comprising nonrotatable and non-reversibleterminals of the type receivable in the receptacle, contactselectrically connected thereto, and interlocked body members formed tohouse the contacts and to receive non-reversible attachment plugterminals of the other type each in electrical engagement with only acertain one o f the contacts.

JACOB RUDIN.

